Bahamian Art & Culture

Bahamian Art & Culture The longest running, most trusted online platform showcasing the artists and creatives of The Bahamas. 🇧🇸 Established in 2000. Thanks for your support!

Art & Culture were created to uplift and inspire the spirit of mankind. Smith & Benjamin's 'Bahamian Art & Culture' online magazine is a service of Smith & Benjamin Art & Design, an artist-owned design firm based in Nassau, The Bahamas. Smith & Benjamin's "Bahamian Art & Culture" began as a rudimentary email service back in 2000 when we would send to our considerable mailing list a few emails a we

ek that announced the art and cultural events taking place. It grew and grew until in 2007, we had to streamline those thousands of subscribers and dozens of emails per week into something more manageable and branded. That’s when the online newsletter was born. At the onset of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, the newsletter was put on hiatus but our social media platforms picked up the ball and kept the spotlight on Bahamian artists, the work they do, and the culture and heritage that inspires them. As the times change, we strive to evolve and we plan to present a fresh new approach to our presentation in the first quarter of 2022. All these years later we are still as enthusiastic as we ever were about Bahamian Art & Culture. We unabashedly celebrate the sheer vibrancy and magnitude of the talent and creative genius coming out of these 700 islands called The Bahamas. If you wish to share your artistic or cultural content, feel free to contact us so we can share with the world.

*To promote for-profit events, we offer this service for a nominal fee. Eml: [email protected]

The Homegoing Service for beloved Bahamian artist Eric Ellis will be held on Saturday, March 28th, 2026 at 10am at Mount...
25/03/2026

The Homegoing Service for beloved Bahamian artist Eric Ellis will be held on Saturday, March 28th, 2026 at 10am at Mount Moriah Baptist Church on Farrington Road. Attendees are invited to wear bright colours in honour of Eric.

🙏🏼❤️💕

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It is with profound sadness and broken hearts that we share the news of the unexpected passing of our dear-dear friend, ...
04/03/2026

It is with profound sadness and broken hearts that we share the news of the unexpected passing of our dear-dear friend, Royal Bahamas Police Force Sergeant 230, and fellow Bahamian artist, Eric Ellis.

Eric was family to us. We were friends for over fifty years, and he was Jolyon’s best man at our wedding, standing easily a foot taller than my husband, he was a giant of a man.

He was serious and blunt — no frills, no fluff, never saying more than he needed to. But beneath that no-nonsense exterior was a quiet, gentle soul with a dry sense of humor and a deeply sensitive, warm heart. He’d send us regular WhatsApps just to check in on us, or to literally tell us he loved us. Sometimes a kit of snapper and crawfish from Andros would show up, just because. Other times, he’d fuss at me for not selling more of his artwork — telling me to hustle harder. Lol. That was Eric.

Eric was a self-taught artist. No formal training. Just a raw, intuitive talent with a deep love for his country. He carried The Bahamas in his heart and through his paintings, he gave it back to us. What quietly lived on the inside came pouring out on canvas in riotous color and energy. I really believe it was his preferred way of speaking.

Eric’s work captured The Bahamas in a way that was entirely his own. Junkanoo in full rush. Music and dance suspended mid-beat. Bold patterns and masks. Over-the-hill life and sleepy island settlements. Fishing boats and regatta sloops skimming bright waters. Potcakes underfoot. Policemen in pith helmets. Choirs singing. Birds in flight. Sea grape leaves, Poui trees dripping their juicy petals. Schoolgirls with ponytails skipping along in uniform. Chickens in the yard. Grammy on the porch smoking pipe and plaiting straw. Island women balancing baskets of fruit on their heads. Andros folks catching crabs. Freshly washed clothes gently drying on the line. Bougainvillea blazing in the sun — and the colors! Colors, colors everywhere!

I have always loved Eric’s work; it is wonderfully whimsical, full of joy, and completely his own — no one else painted quite like him. For me, he captured Bahamian life from a simple, sweet, and innocent perspective — from a time that no longer seems to exist, except in paintings and poetry.

It feels impossible to imagine that there will be no more new paintings from Eric. That he left us on his birthday adds a whole level of sadness that i find hard to put into words. This is yet another profound loss for the Bahamian art community.

Please remember his family in your prayers and hearts. Funeral arrangements are still in progress, and we will share details when we learn more.

Eric Ellis (1964-2026)
Rest in Peace

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At the official opening of the FUZE Caribbean Art Fair in Nassau on October 22, 2025, Mr. John Cox, Chair of the Nationa...
23/10/2025

At the official opening of the FUZE Caribbean Art Fair in Nassau on October 22, 2025, Mr. John Cox, Chair of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and Head of The Bahamas in Venice Committee, proudly announced our nation’s return to the world’s most prestigious contemporary art exhibition — the Venice Biennale — for the 61st edition in 2026, curated by distinguished Bahamian art historian, educator, and curator Dr. Krista Thompson.

Under her vision, the Bahamian Pavilion will present the work of the revered Bahamian artist John Beadle (1964–2024) and critically acclaimed contemporary visual artist Lavar Munroe (b 1982), with a posthumous collaboration between the late and the living artist.

Rooted in Bahamian artistic and social practices—especially the spirit of Junkanoo—their dialogue of representing Bahamian culture whilst addressing pressing global issues—forms the conceptual and visual foundation of the Pavilion.

Reflecting the Biennale’s theme “In Minor Keys”, Dr. Thompson’s curatorial vision highlights Beadle and Munroe’s use of discarded materials and collaboration to honor “the hidden, the undervalued—the minor notes” in art and society.

The Bahamas first appeared at the Venice Biennale in 2013, with world renowned, award-winning Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan’s groundbreaking installation “Polar Eclipse”.

Congratulations to the hardworking Bahamas in Venice Committee, including Amanda Coulson, Co-commissioner and Executor; Jodi Minnis, Executive Assistant; Maelynn Seymour-Major, Government Liaison; and Vaughn Roberts, Treasurer who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring The Bahamas once again to this world stage! Awesome!! 👏🏼🥳🎉🇧🇸✨

Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another FIRST! This time it’s for our own brilliant Dr. Erica Moiah James—widely regar...
20/08/2025

Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another FIRST! This time it’s for our own brilliant Dr. Erica Moiah James—widely regarded art historian, scholar, author, curator, and Associate Professor at the University of Miami—on the release of her FIRST academic press book entitled, “After Caliban: Caribbean Art in a Global Imaginary” (Duke University Press).

In “After Caliban”, James explores how Caribbean artists of the 1990s built a decolonized art history for the region. Drawing on Aimé Césaire’s rewriting of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”—where Caliban takes control of his own story—James shows how artists like Marc Latamie, Janine Antoni, Belkis Ayón, Edouard Duval-Carrié, and Christopher Cozier rejected marginalization and forged new cultural and historical narratives.

Just as Césaire decolonized literature, these artists decolonized visual culture, reshaping what contemporary Caribbean art means today. James argues that these artists not only reshaped the field, but also created a new kind of art practice—one that moves beyond borders, divisions, and colonial ideas—paving the way for a postcolonial future.

REVIEW:
“By thinking art history from and with the Caribbean, Erica Moiah James demands a reorientation and expansion of the theoretical toolkit used to understand the region. Her questioning of the analytical purchase of Caliban disturbs the taken-for-grantedness of earlier examinations of the Caribbean while opening up space for how we might think it otherwise. ‘After Caliban’ will be of great significance, having an important impact on the field of art history, especially in this moment as attempts are being made to decolonize the discipline.” - Wayne Modest, Professor of Material Culture and Critical Heritage Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

If you order directly from Duke UPress, use the code E25JAMES to receive a 30% discount: dukeupress.edu/after-caliban



✨ Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates yet another FIRST with our very own world-renowned, Grand Bahamian conceptual artist...
17/08/2025

✨ Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates yet another FIRST with our very own world-renowned, Grand Bahamian conceptual artist Janine Antoni who this summer unveiled her very FIRST public sculpture, “Whispering Through a Stone”, commissioned by the City of Coral Gables, Florida. You can experience it at 332 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134.

Inspired by the 19th-century “conversation chair,” Antoni’s work invites intimacy while setting boundaries. Two seats are carved into a single boulder, separated by a small hole positioned at ear-and-mouth height. A whisper spoken on one side travels through the stone to the other, encouraging quiet, personal exchanges in a public space.

Antoni also drew inspiration for this piece from a cherished memory of growing up in Grand Bahama:

“I grew up in Freeport, Grand Bahama. At the center of town was the International Bazaar… In front of the Chinese restaurant was a laughing Buddha with a big belly. My father told my brothers and I that if we rubbed the Buddha’s belly, our wish would be granted. That sentiment created a ritual.”

This childhood memory of ritual and connection shows how small, symbolic gestures can turn ordinary public spaces into sites of intimacy, magic, and connection — and that thread lives on in the enchanting “Whispering Through a Stone.”

The piece was fabricated by Urban Art Projects () with stone milling by Quarra Stone ().

🔗 Learn more about this wonderful sculpture at: janineantoni.net/whispering-through-a-stone-1

Photo sources: JanineAntoni.net, , and ICABoston.org.


Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another first in the Bahamian art world with widely acclaimed, award-winning Bahamian ...
15/08/2025

Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another first in the Bahamian art world with widely acclaimed, award-winning Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan’s FIRST major museum exhibition in Los Angeles. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Presented by Hyundai Motor Company and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced the exhibition as part of their ongoing 10-year collaboration to support artists working across disciplines to transcend conventional boundaries. “Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began” runs October 12, 2025 – March 29, 2026.

The exhibition features over 20 new works—including Strachan’s most expansive neon piece and one of his largest sculptures—across immersive environments that reveal erased and overlooked histories, particularly of the Black diaspora.

“Tavares is one of the most innovative and experimental artists working today… The Day Tomorrow Began reconsiders how institutions engage Black diasporic histories,” said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO.

Image Credits:
-Image 1: Tavares Strachan, A Map of the Crown (Amasunzu Black), 2023, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 2: Tavares Strachan, Six Thousand Years, 2018, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles, photo by Brian Forrest
- Image 3: Tavares Strachan, Inner Elder (Nina Simone as Queen of Sheba), 2023, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 4: Tavares Stachan, Galaxy Defender, 2025, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 5: Tavares Strachan, Six Thousand Years, 2018, and The Encyclopedia of Invisibility, 2018, installed in Soft Power: A Conversation For The Future, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2019–20, © Tavares Strachan, photo: Johnna Arnold/courtesy SFMOMA
- Image 6: Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan, photo source: Perrotin Gallery

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We are back from a much-needed break, ready and refreshed to bring you the best in Bahamian Art & Culture! 🥳🇧🇸🎉🤩⭐️We hav...
14/08/2025

We are back from a much-needed break, ready and refreshed to bring you the best in Bahamian Art & Culture! 🥳🇧🇸🎉🤩⭐️

We have a couple firsts for you— starting with acclaimed Bahamian-born, Atlanta-based artist Lillian Blades in her FIRST solo museum exhibition that’s open to the public now at the Sarasota Art Museum in Florida until October 26, 2025.

“Through the Veil” is an immersive installation of suspended mixed-media assemblage sculpture Lillian calls “veils.” Made from materials such as acrylic, wood, fabric, photographs, and found objects, each piece is assembled with a process reminiscent of quilting, a tribute to her late mother’s craft. Hung beneath the museum’s skylight, the veils catch and reflect light, creating shifting patterns and colors throughout the space.

Blades describes her work as a way to “bring together fragments of memory” and to explore connection, identity, and place. Visitors are invited to walk among the layered forms, experiencing the interplay of texture, light, and shadow while moving between past and present. Through the Veil is organized by the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour.




This July 2025, Summer Arts Immersion is offering a FREE digital arts programme exclusively for young men who wish to pu...
13/05/2025

This July 2025, Summer Arts Immersion is offering a FREE digital arts programme exclusively for young men who wish to pursue careers in illustration or animation.

Find out more:
- Scan the QR code on the graphic
- Or check out
- 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eUHhjCbf

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Nassau City

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Monday 09:00 - 15:30
Tuesday 09:00 - 15:30
Wednesday 09:00 - 15:30
Thursday 09:00 - 15:30
Friday 09:00 - 15:30

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